


Beauty Reflected In Your Eyes

by GraySonOfGotham



Series: Tentatodd Week 2019 [4]
Category: Batman - All Media Types, DCU
Genre: Alternate Universe - Fantasy, Alternate Universe - Horror, Beauty and the Beast Elements, Dick is supposed to kill Jason, Enemies to Lovers, Falling In Love, Fluff, Fucking each other, Human Dick, Kinda, Loss of Virginity, M/M, Mermaid Jason, Merpeople, Nonhuman, Tentacle Monster Jason, Tentacle Monsters, Tentacle Sex, Underwater Sex, Virgin Sacrifice, lake monster, sharp teeth, underwater creatures
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2019-02-14
Updated: 2019-02-14
Packaged: 2019-10-26 00:32:06
Rating: Mature
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 1
Words: 8,476
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/17735597
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/GraySonOfGotham/pseuds/GraySonOfGotham
Summary: Each year, five virgins must be sacrificed to the Crimson Prince, a creature that lives in the lake and has terrorized Dick's village for a long time now.And this year, Dick's name was chosen to be one of the sacrifices.He's not afraid, however, because he has been trained to kill the Crimson Prince.Tentatodd Week 2019, Day 5 - Horror/Fantasy





	Beauty Reflected In Your Eyes

**Author's Note:**

> This is very rough and not edited at all. It probably will not make much sense and seem a bit ramble-y. I apologize ahead of time if you still decide to read it.

“Dick Grayson.”

The entire crowd went dead silent as Dick walked up to the stage, stone-faced and calm.

As he turned around to face his village, he saw all the sad faces of his friends and where Damian was yelling and screaming for Dick while Tim held him back the best he could.

Dick turned his eyes away from them. He glanced over at Bruce instead. Their eyes met for a split second. Then Dick looked away.

Bruce reached into the bowl to choose the name of the next sacrifice.

~

“Father, you cannot possibly allow Grayson to be one of the sacrifices!” Damian screamed, his face red with exertion from yelling.

“It’s the rules, Damian,” Bruce said tiredly. “I don’t want Dick to go either,” he said softly. He put a hand on Dick’s shoulder. “But if we don’t follow the rules…”

“We’ll all die,” Tim finished with a hollow voice. He glanced at Dick. “You’re oddly calm about this,” he said.

Dick eyed his younger brother. “So are you,” he said. “I mean, if I’m going to die anyway, why give them the satisfaction?”

Tim smiled humorlessly. “Oh, Dick,” he said softly. “You should fight them off,” he said. “You’re so much stronger than the other sacrifices this year. You might be able to get away!”

“I doubt it,” Dick said with a wry smile. “There’s no proof that any of the virgins have ever gotten away.”

“You must at least attempt to, Grayson!” Damian yelled. “You can’t just- just succumb to your death like this!”

“I’m glad you care, Dami,” Dick said softly. “But I’ll be fine. I have a plan.”

Damian let out a broken sob. “Do you?” he asked. “Grayson…” he trailed off. “Father,” he started again. “Can’t you- Can’t you do _anything_? Negotiate with them?”

“Damian,” Bruce said softly. “I know this is hard. It’s hard for all of us. But… there’s no other way. Dick’s name came out of the bowl. He has to go.”

Damian glared at Bruce. “I hate you!” he screamed. “You’re the chief of the village! And you’re sending your own son as a virgin sacrifice to the lake monsters! What kind of father are you?!”

“Dami-” Dick started.

But Damian stormed out of the room, slamming the door behind him.

Tim stood up. “I’ll go after him,” he said. He hesitated a second before coming over and hugging Dick tightly. “Please be safe,” he whispered. “Don’t- Don’t anger them, whatever you do,” he said. “And like Damian said… _try_ to get away.”

Dick pulled Tim close and hugged him tightly. “Yeah,” he promised. “I’ll- I’ll try. Tell Damian I said good-bye. Tell him to be a good kid, ‘kay? Don’t let him give B too much trouble. You too, Timbo,” he whispered. “I love you guys.”

Tim sniffled softly. “We love you too,” he croaked before pulling back. With one final glance over his shoulder, he slipped through the door, leaving Bruce alone with Dick in the room.

“You have everything?” Bruce asked.

Dick nodded. “All of it,” he said.

Bruce let out a short sigh. “I was hoping you’d have a couple more years to train before you were picked,” he said softly.

“I’m ready, B,” Dick said. He gave his adoptive father a strained smile. “Trust me. I can do this.”

Bruce nodded. “I do trust you, Dick,” he said. “It’s why I trained you in secret. I’m putting our village’s fate in your hands. I know you can do it.” He gave Dick a smile.

Dick stood and returned the smile. “Okay,” he said. “I think our time’s up,” he said. He swallowed hard and nodded.

Bruce glanced up at the clock on the wall of the room given to families to say good-bye to the sacrifices. He nodded and stood as well. From his pocket, he pulled out a vial of blue liquid. He handed it to Dick.

“Good luck, Dick,” he said gravely.

Dick uncapped the vial and tossed back the liquid. It was tasteless and left a slight tingling feeling in his throat. “Don’t worry, B,” he said firmly. “I’m going to defeat the Crimson Prince.”

~

Dick stood on a floating platform with the four other virgin sacrifices of that year. There were three girls and one other boy, even younger than Dick himself. They were sobbing and huddling together. Only Dick stood at the edge of the platform, glaring down into the depths of the lake.

Suddenly, the water exploded from around them.

Thick tentacles wrapped around their ankles and legs, tugging them over the edge of the platform and into the water.

The boy and the three girls fell in, screaming and thrashing. Dick saw the tentacles coming. He sidestepped them easily. His acrobatic training gave him an advantage over the tentacles that were searching him out blindly.

He grabbed his dagger and started slashing at the tentacles that came at him. He managed to cut a couple, causing them to jerk back in surprise and drop back into the water. Black blood dripped onto the platform, making Dick smirk contently.

More and more tentacles were coming out of the water now. Dick would soon be unable to fight them off. So he tucked his dagger into his belt and dove past them, straight into the lake.

Dick opened his eyes under the green water, and he could see perfectly clearly.

He inhaled sharply, taking in the figures surrounding him. They were the merpeople of the lake that acted as the minions for the Crimson Prince.

Dick saw four of them were swimming deeper down into the lake with the other four virgins tied up tightly in the tentacles that sprouted from their backs. They were still struggling weakly.

However, there were still five more merpeople left. They bared their teeth at Dick, their pale skin looking green and ghastly under the water. Their stringy, long hair floated around them like a thick mane.

Their teeth were sharp and deadly. With a quick scan of the remaining merpeople, Dick noted one pair of yellow eyes, and four pairs of red. One female and four males then.

They all zoomed at him. Underwater, they were incredibly fast. Dick found them off the best he could, but he was clumsy and unused to having the water resist him in ways the air did not on land.

He put a honorable struggle, but he was soon subdued by the merpeople. As soon as Dick knew he had no more chances of fighting them off, he stopped struggling and let the wounded merpeople drag him down into the depths of the lake.

Dick watched as the surface of the water grew further and further away. The tiny spot that was the sun was soon gone.

The water being drawn into Dick’s lungs soon became much colder, and it chilled him to the bones, but Dick ignored it. He just kept taking steady breaths and saving his energy. He would need it.

Dick was suddenly flipped over and pushed down. His knees crashed into hard, stone floor. He glanced sideways and saw the other four captives.

Dick looked up and saw a large, crude throne made of thick slabs of stone. Sitting on the throne was a huge mass of red tentacles. They moved slowly, looking not unlike a large ball of yarn, but alive and moving.

“What took so long with this one?” a booming voice asked.

 _“He put up a fight, my lord,”_ one of the mermen hissed. _“He had human weapons with him.”_

An amused chuckle echoed in the room. “Did he now…” Dick realized that the voice was coming from the mass of tentacles. “What an interesting one.” One of the thick tentacles snaked over, and the tentacles off the merman let go of Dick. Dick was wrapped up and jerked forward suddenly so that he was right in front of the mass of tentacles.

“What is your name, brave little virgin?”

“Dick Grayson,” Dick said, his voice coming out strong and clear thanks to the potion the sacrifices all had to drink before being tossed into the lake.

The tentacles laughed. “You are brave, Dick Grayson. Noble, but stupid. You are my prisoner now.”

Dick realized with a jolt that this was the Crimson Prince. He had heard that the Crimson Prince had many forms. Some say he was like the mermaids, but more terrifying. Others say he is a man that lives under water. Yet other say he is a dragon, or some sort of fish, or just an evil god. No matter what people guessed he looked like, one thing is agreed upon: the Crimson Prince is a fearsome creature.

Dick grabbed his dagger, and the Prince chuckled again. “Your attempts to harm me are futile, human,” he said. “You cannot defeat me with a mere scrap of metal.”

Dick growled and bared his teeth. “You don’t know what I’m capable of.”

“Oh? Determined, are you?” the Prince asked. “Cute.” He set Dick back down onto the ground. Immediately, Dick sliced his dagger across his palm before stabbing the dagger into the mass of tentacles.

“ _’The innocent blood of a virgin is lethal to those with hearts of evil,’_ ” Dick recited. He pulled the dagger out and held his breath.

The Prince just laughed harder. “You honestly believed you could hurt me with virgin blood? Do I look that weak to you? Oh, dear, you are certainly going to be fun to play with,” he mused. “Lock this one up away from the rest of the group,” the Prince said. “Treat him _well_. I would like to get to know him a little better.”

Dick was dragged out of the room again. He gritted his teeth and glared at the Crimson Prince. The monster thought that was all Dick had? Dick was just getting started.

~

“’ _Pearls are the solidified tears of those who have lost a love to the terrors of the sea. Crushed, they are deadly to those of ill-will towards you,’”_ Dick said, glaring at the Crimson Prince from across the table during breakfast the next day.

The Prince had Dick wrapped up in his tentacles, tied firmly in his chair. “And what is that supposed to mean, Dick?”

Dick smirked. “It means I slipped crushed pearls into your breakfast.”

“It was delicious,” the Prince said. “A tad gritty, but it certainly looked nice and sparkly.” The Prince went silent for a second, and though Dick saw no eyes on the Prince, he suspected that the Prince was watching him. “Oh!” the Prince said in mock surprise. “Was that you attempt to kill me again?” He laughed. “You are the most fun I’ve ever had, Dick,” he said.

“Fuck you,” Dick growled.

“Are you finished with breakfast?” the Prince asked. “Come along. I will show you my gardens.”

With Dick still wrapped up in his tentacles, unable to move, the Prince dragged Dick along behind him like he was some stuffed animal. They moved through the dark hallways of the Prince’s palace slowly.

“How long do you plan to keep going with this whole ‘kill me’ plot of yours?” the Prince asked, sounding amused.

“Until you’re dead,” Dick spat.

“Well, you’ll be here quite a long time then,” the Prince said. They ended up outside, and Dick blinked when he saw a literal garden. There were small little plots of plants growing in near rows, labeled with signs. Some of the strange plants had things growing on them.

Dick had been expecting some greenhouse of monstrous, man-eating plants. The Prince pulled Dick around his garden, introducing all the plants to him.

“This is called a sea berry,” the Prince said, plucking a large blue bubble off of one of the plants with one of his tentacles. He held it up to Dick’s face. “Sea berries usually grow in the ocean, hence its name, but I managed to find a way to grow freshwater sea berries. They’re quite a delight. Want to try one?”

“I’ll never eat anything you give me,” Dick snarled.

“Your loss,” the Prince said. He poked the sea berry into the mass of tentacles. “They really are quite good,” he said, his voice distorted with obvious chewing.

Dick narrowed his eyes at the Prince. If the Prince had a mouth and presumably eyes, it means that the tentacles were not his real body. It explained why Dick could not kill him so easily. He would only have to try harder.

~

It took two weeks for Dick to gain the Prince’s trust enough to allow Dick to follow him around without being wrapped up like a mummy. Still, the Prince kept a tentacle wrapped loosely around Dick’s waist or wrist at all times.

Dick remained cold and emotionless towards the Prince, but he also stopped trying to actively kill the Prince. He needed to come up with a new plan.

“Have I ever shown you the library, Dick?” the Prince asked during lunch one day.

Dick stabbed at his seaweed salad and glared at the Prince. He shrugged.

“Hm, I certainly should have. It’s one of my favorite rooms,” the Prince said, taking a delicate bite of his salad.

It was strange to watch the Prince eat. His huge tentacles dwarfed the tiny spoon and fork. He would stick the food through random openings between the tentacles, and the food would be gone when he took it back out again.

“I’ll take you later,” the Prince said.

“I don’t want to see your library,” Dick said.

“You’ll like it there,” the Prince said, ignoring Dick. “It’s one of the brightest rooms in the entire palace because it’s closest to the surface. Given, it’s still about thirty feet under. It is pretty relaxing up there.”

“Have you ever gone up to the surface?” Dick asked bluntly.

The Prince laughed, the sound sharp and rumbling. “Of course I have,” he said. “I don’t always look like _this_ , you know?”

Dick frowned. “Then what do you usually look like?”

The Prince chuckled again. “That’s for me to know, and you to find out. Though I would prefer you did not,” he added as an afterthought. The Prince stood. “Come along now. We shall go visit the library.”

A thick, red tentacle wrapped around Dick’s waist loosely. The Prince got up and moved towards the door. Dick had no choice but to follow like a leashed dog.

“Tell me, Dick,” the Prince asked. “Have you found anything you like around my palace?”

“No,” Dick bit out. It was a small lie. He rather liked the stained glass window in his room that bathed his little prison with colorful light when it was sunny enough on the surface. And the bed was rather comfortable. Dick finally learned how to sleep without floating off the bed at night.

“Well, I guess I’ll just have to find something for you to like then,” the Prince said. “Shells, perhaps?”

“I would like if you would just let go of all the virgins you’ve kidnapped over the years.”

“Oh? Not my death anymore?” The Prince glanced back at him.

“Your death would be a nice addition,” Dick said with a shrug.

“I see,” the Prince said. “You’re starting to like me.”

“Fuck no,” Dick countered angrily. “I still want to kill you. But I’m still figuring out how.”

“Well,” the Prince said softly. “Tell me when you do. Until then, here’s the library. There aren’t a lot of human books, since human books are easily destroyed in water, but there are some stories that have been copied onto our paper.”

He led Dick into a room that was covered in shelves of scrolls.

“For example,” the Prince said, reaching up with one of his tentacles and grabbing a green scroll. He brought it down and carefully opened it, showing it to Dick. “ _Beauty and the Beast_ ,” he said softly. “That’s one of your stories, right?”

“Yeah,” Dick said, looking at the words on the scroll, written in a shimmery green ink that seemed to be floating on top of the paper rather than be inked into the paper itself. “Have you read it?”

The Prince gently ran a tentacle over the words. “One of the only things I like about you humans.”

“One of? What are the others?” Dick asked, genuinely curious.

The Prince snorted. “That your life spans are rather short,” he said. “But then, you just keep multiplying.”

Dick rolled his eyes. “Gives you a constant supply of virgin sacrifices each year,” he said spitefully. “What do you even do with them anyway? I haven’t seen any of them since you separated me.”

“Oh, they’re being held at another place. Trust me,” the Prince said with a smirking tone. “They’re being treated _well_.”

Dick scoffed in disgust. He pushed the scroll away. The Prince rolled it back up gently and placed it on the highest shelf again. Dick looked around the rather small library.

The Prince had been right about one thing. The library was really well lit. The entire ceiling was made of glass, and he could see fish swimming above and around. It bathed the entire room with an eerie green like that the entire lake possessed. But after spending a couple of weeks down there, Dick had gotten used to it.

However, he longed to see normal colors again. Not ones distorted by the green lake water.

He let out a soft breath that he had not even realized that he had been holding.

“What?” the Prince asked.

Dick caught himself. He glared at the Prince. “Nothing. Mind your own business.”

“You’re so grouchy,” the Prince said. “I don’t understand why.”

“Because you _kidnapped_ me?”

“I did not,” the Prince said. You jumped into the water by yourself at that.”

“Ugh!” Dick huffed. “Because you threatened to flood my village if we didn’t bring you virgin sacrifices each year!”

“I wouldn’t have threatened your village if they did not pollute my rivers and lakes,” the Prince said. “You humans killed off about a hundred of my people in about a year, did you know that? On average, only about 10 die a year, but due to the choking pollution of just trash being dumped into our lake…” the Prince trailed off.

Dick pressed his lips together tightly. “That was before I was born. I don’t understand why I have to pay for it.”

“I must ensure it does not happen again,” the Prince said. His tone was soft and thoughtful, unlike Dick’s. Dick did not like it. He would rather the Prince be smirking and mean. “Are you tired Dick? I’m tired. I think I’m going to take a nap,” he said. “I’ll take you to your room.”

“What, don’t want to torture me anymore?” Dick snarked.

“Is this what you think torture is like?” the Prince asked. “Hm.”

Dick was surprised by the lack of response from the Prince. He huffed, crossed his arms and stopped walking. The Prince paid him no mind and just continued to drag him along, pulling him through the water.

They passed a male and female mer on the way to the rooms. They both bowed as the Prince passed, keeping their head down until both Dick and the Prince had passed.

“Are they afraid of you?” Dick asked, noticing how the two mer left quickly.

“Probably,” the Prince said. “I don’t really know why, but I don’t mind it too much. Keeps them in line as well.”

“So everyone fears you,” Dick concluded. “No wonder you’re so lonely.”

The Prince stopped in front of their rooms. “But you don’t,” he said.

Dick glared at the ground. The Prince reached out towards Dick with a tentacle. Dick flinched away. The Prince’s tentacle latched onto the door knob and opened the door to Dick’s room. The tentacle around his waist fell away, and Dick swam into his room and slammed the door.

He pressed his back against the door and huffed.

Why was the Prince taking so much interest in him especially? Dick knew that his plan to kill the Prince made the Prince feel interested, but it had been weeks since Dick last attempted to kill the Prince. He was out of ideas and as still looking for a weakness.

However, the Prince _had_ no weaknesses, it seemed. For one, he was either really cocky and was bluffing, or he was really just that confident in his invincibility.

Dick growled and screwed the balls of his palms into his eyes.

Then, he stopped. The Prince had mentioned that his tentacle-ridden self is not his true form. He just preferred wearing it.

Dick gasped softly. Maybe, if he could catch the Prince in another form, Dick would be able to find out a way to kill him.

His hand drifted to his belt, where his dagger was tucked away.

Soon.

~

“You look tense today,” the Prince said.

“When am I not?” Dick grumbled, stabbing at the sand with a shovel made of a large shell. “I’m _gardening_.”

“Gardening is relaxing,” the Prince said, gently patting some of the dirt over a couple seeds. Then, he shifted, leaning back against a large, tree-like plant. “Come here.”

There was a light tugging at the tentacle around Dick’s wrist. Dick dropped the shovel and walked over, crossing his arms and glaring down at the Prince.

“Come _here_ ,” the Prince said with a laugh. He tugged Dick down so that Dick landed in the Prince, face first into the mass of tentacles. The Prince turned Dick around so that Dick’s back was to him instead. Dick was even more tense now, board stiff. Tentacles wrapped around Dick’s shoulder and started slowly massaging them. “ _Relax_ ,” the Prince said softly, his voice right in Dick’s ear.

Dick shivered.

“I can’t,” he gritted out.

“Just close your eyes, Dick. Then breathe.”

Dick wanted to refuse, but the soft massaging of his shoulder did feel really nice. He took a shuddering breath and exhale. His shoulders drooped, and he felt himself sink into the Prince’s tentacles a little more.

He desperately wanted not to be in such a vulnerable position, but it really did feel nice. The Prince’s tentacles worked out all of the kinks from his muscles.

“You’re cute when you’re not frowning,” the Prince mused after a few minutes.

Immediately, Dick was awake and glowering again.

The Prince laughed. “Shouldn’t have said anything,” he said. “Ignore me, Dick.”

Dick found it impossible to relax again after that, but the Prince never stopped massaging him, not even to comment on how his shoulders were tense again.

Eventually, the Prince gave up and suggested they go back to their rooms. Dick was more than glad to oblige.

That night, however, Dick was going to put his plan into action. He waited until it was quite late, after everyone had gone to sleep. It was pitch black, but Dick was prepared.

Earlier, in the garden, Dick had plucked a few sea berries, which glowed a dull blue in the dark. He put them in a jar and held it in front of him like a lantern.

With his dagger clutched tightly in his hand, Dick made his way across the hall, turning the handle of the door to the Prince’s room. Dick pushed the door open slowly and slipped inside.

He held the lantern up, searching for the Prince’s bed. He saw the edge of it, and Dick crept closer, doing his best to move slowly and breathe lightly, trying not to disturb the water too much.

Dick held the lantern out over the Prince’s bed.

He nearly dropped the jar when he saw what the Prince looked like.

Of course he was devastatingly handsome. Of course he was the most beautiful thing Dick had ever seen. Of course he looked cute while sleeping. Because why would fate make Dick’s job any easier?

Dick gripped his dagger tighter and stared at the merman asleep in the bed.

There were a few familiar red tentacles hanging around him, drooping off the bed, but Dick saw that the merman had black hair, and a pale, chiseled face. His upper body was beyond beautiful, and he looked like a Greek statue. Skin turned into blood red scales and a huge, shimmery, red tail. The Crimson Prince truly lived up to his name.

Dick raised his dagger over the sleeping merman, his hand trembling. Dick gritted his teeth, shaking even harder. This was his chance. If he could get the Prince through the heart, Dick was free. He could find the others and free his village from the pain and suffering of the Crimson Prince.

But Dick could not. The Prince was completely defenseless right now. He was asleep and unable to defend himself. Dick was a coward to try to kill him like this. With a low growl, Dick set the jar down and shoved the Prince in the shoulder.

“Get up,” he snapped. “Fight me.”

The Prince groaned and blinked his eyes open. The Prince narrowed his eyes at Dick, then yawned. “You here to kill me?” he asked in a groggy voice that was extremely sexy. “Why didn’t you do it while I was actually asleep?”

“ _Fight me_ ,” Dick demanded, almost screaming now. His hand shook so hard he could not tell if his grip was tightening or loosening around the dagger.

The Prince just stared at him. “Dick,” he said, in that soft, gentle voice that had lulled Dick to sleep many times in the past weeks, even though Dick would never admit it. “Drop the dagger. You’ll end up stabbing yourself.”

Dick screamed. He threw the dagger to the ground and just tugged at his hair with his fists. “Why?!” he yelled. Tears sprung up in his eyes. Angry, sad, frustrated, he did not know.

Something encircled his wrists and gently took his hands away from his head. They pulled Dick forward, and then a hand encircled his waist and Dick found himself pulled flush against the Prince.

The Prince’s other hand came up and gently rubbed Dick’s hair. “Don’t hurt yourself, Dick,” he said softly. Then, he pressed a kiss to Dick’s forehead.

Dick let out a broken sob. Then, he reached up and grabbed either side of the Prince’s face, pulling him down in one swift move and shoved their mouths together. The Prince let out a sound of surprise, and Dick kissed him desperately. Before the Prince could reciprocate, Dick pushed him back and wiped his lips with the back of his hand.

“Fuck you,” he croaked. “I hate you.”

“I don’t… understand,” the Prince said.

“I hate you!” Dick yelled again. Then, he stared into the Prince’s wide red eyes, and he could not help himself. He shoved the Prince back down onto the bed and kissed him without abandon. The Prince was more compliant this time, letting Dick push his way into his mouth. Dick felt two rows of sharp teeth, like the ones the other merpeople had. But he did not care. He mashed their faces together and until he was sure the Prince was choking on his tongue. But the Prince never complained and just let Dick ravage his throat.

Dick pulled off to breathe. “What’s your name?” he demanded angrily.

The Prince hesitated.

“Your name, damn it!” Dick said irritably.

“Jason,” the Prince finally said. “My name’s Jason.”

“I fucking hate you, Jason,” Dick snapped. Then, he pulled Jason right back in for another kiss.

They made out for another good five minutes before Dick pulled away, satisfied for now. He stared down at Jason panting. He ran his tongue along his lip, which was bleeding in a couple places from Jason’s sharp teeth. He rolled off of the merman.

“What did you do to me?” Dick asked in a neutral voice.

“I didn’t do anything to you, Dick,” Jason said. “You’re the one who was going to kill me in my bed but ended up ravaging my mouth like some unrefined beast. It was hot though.” Dick could hear the smirk in his voice.

“Shut up,” Dick groaned. He flipped over onto his side so that he was face to face with Jason again. “Why do you have a pretty face?” he asked. “I think I could have killed you if you didn’t look so beautiful.”

Jason smiled, showing his sharp teeth, which also looked really pretty on his face. “You suppose so?” he asked. “How would you know?”

“Because I would feel guilty for ridding the world of a pretty face!”

“Is that all?” Jason purred. He shifted closer. Dick’s breath caught in his throat, and his heart was pounding really loudly in his ears.

“Yes.”

Jason pressed a pale hand to Dick’s heart. “You sure?” he breathed, his eyes now half-lidded and he was even closer to Dick now.

Dick gave a soft little whimper. Their lips were almost touching again. “I don’t know,” he admitted.

Jason kissed him, softly. He just pressed their lips together and gently arched up against Dick, pulling their chests flushed together. Dick’s groin rubbed against the top of Jason’s tail.

“Fuck,” Dick said in a harsh whisper. “You can’t possibly be arousing me.”

“Why not?” Jason whispered back mockingly. “You’re the one who said I’m hot.” Then, he rolled of off Dick. “Well,” he said. “As much fun as this was, I’m not nocturnal, so I’ll be going back to sleep now.” He flipped over so that his back was facing Dick. “Good night. You can stay if you want.”

Dick blinked up into the dark waters. Then, he flipped over to stare at Jason’s back. There were three tentacles extending out of his back, wrapped around and draped over Jason. Other than that, Jason’s back was exactly like the backs of all the other men in the village.

Dick wanted to reach out and trace the muscles in Jason’s back. Then, he frowned. “Are you serious?” he asked bluntly.

“Hm?” Jason hummed, his voice already thick with sleep. “’bout what?”

Dick sputtered. “ _One_ , I tried to kill you five minutes ago, so what makes you think I won’t do it again? _Two,_ you just rubbed yourself all over me, got me all hard, and now you’re going to go back to sleep?! What the fuck!”

Jason yawned before rolling over to face Dick. His face was a lot closer than Dick had anticipated. Dick swallowed hard, but he kept his glare on his face.

Jason let out a soft laugh. “You are such a strange person, Dick,” he said. “I think, if you were going to kill me, you would have done it. Besides,” he said, one of his tentacles wrapping around Dick’s waist and pulling him a little bit closer. “A good night’s sleep is just as rewarding as a good orgasm.”

Dick wiggled, trying half-heartedly to remove the tentacle from around his waist. But the presence of a tentacle around his waist was such a familiar thing that Dick cannot say that it was not comforting in some twisted way.

“I hate you,” he grumbled.

“I’m sure you do,” Jason said, his eyes closed again, and already drifting off to sleep. Dick glared at him until Jason had fallen asleep. He was tempted to wake him up just to spite him, but he had been unconsciously matching his own breathing to Jason’s deep breathing, and it was drawing him into sleep.

Dick’s eyes grew heavy, and he reluctantly let himself be pulled into sleep’s embrace.

~

When Dick woke up the next morning, he was sleeping as the little spoon, his head tucked in under Jason’s.

Upon this revelation, Dick immediately tensed up. His arms were pressed against him by both Jason’s arm as well as his tentacles. His beautiful red tail was flopped over Dick’s feet. Spitefully, he kicked at it.

Jason shifted behind him and slowly woke up.

“You planning on doing that every morning?” he asked tiredly. “Kick me?”

“I would like to,” Dick said with faux anger. He was not about to let Jason know that sleep really had made him feel better. “Why are you still touching me?”

“Well, I was under the impression you couldn’t get enough of it,” Jason said with a low chuckle. Still, his tentacles retreated, and he started to remove his arm. Dick grabbed his wrist, squeezing tightly. He pulled Jason’s hand to his chest, essentially keeping Jason’s arm around him. “See, you can’t keep sending me mixed signals, Dickie. This won’t last very long if you do.”

“There is no this,” Dick insisted grumpily.

“Uh-huh,” Jason said. “Look, Dick.” He pulled his arm out of Dick’s grasp and took it away. Jason shifted in the bed, but Dick refused to roll over and look at him. “Dick,” Jason said again.

“What?” Dick bit out viciously. He pressed his own hand against his chest where Jason’s hand had been, hovering right over his rapid heartbeat.

“Dick, I’m serious about the mixed signals thing. I get that you hate me. Got that a while ago. But I don’t know what you want from me now.”

Dick finally flipped over. “I want my freedom. And I want the freedom of the others.”

Jason stared at him. “Is that it?” he asked.

Dick hesitated for a split second before nodding.

“Okay,” Jason said. “I’ll let you go.”

“And them.”

“Fine,” Jason said. “But I can’t send you back to your village.”

“Why not?” Dick demanded.

“Because that’s the point,” Jason said. “I take these ‘sacrifices’ to stop your village’s pollution of my lake. If I start sending back all these people, what do you think will happen to my lake and my people?”

Dick frowned. “No,” he said. “My people deserve to go back to their families.”

“Do they?” Jason asked, cock his head to the side to stare down at Dick. “Three of the four that came with you have already undergone the transformation.”

_“What?”_

“From human to mer.”

“ _What?!”_  Dick exclaimed. “You forced them to-”

“I didn’t force them to do anything,” Jason said, showing the first signs of irritability at Dick. He frowned slightly. “They chose to.”

“Because they had no other choice!” Dick argued anyway.

“They’ve had free reign of the entirety of the lake since they were separated from you, Dick,” Jason said. “I had no guards following them, and I’ve had mer watching over and taking care of them! They could have left any time they wanted!”

Dick’s face became expressionless. “I don’t believe you,” he said. “They’re probably dead.”

Jason just sighed and shook his head, his hair swishing gracefully in the water. He chuckled weakly and gave Dick a look. “You just think the worst of me, don’t you?”

Dick frowned a little harder, shoving away the guilt that rose up in his throat at the self-deprecating look on Jason’s face.

“If you want to go,” Jason said slowly. “Go. I won’t stop you.”

“But you’ll still keep taking sacrifices each year,” Dick said accusingly.

“Yes, I will.”

“Then, no, I won’t go,” Dick said. “You have to stop.”

“You can’t just have everything you want!” Jason said. “If I give you everything, I’m dooming my people! Don’t you get it? This is survival for us!”

“As it is for us!” Dick argued. “I grew up thinking that you _eat_ all of the virgins or raped them or fed their blood to your mer! And… you probably do!”

There was a long pause. “If I’m such a despicable being,” Jason said slowly, his voice low and steady. “Why didn’t you just kill me last night? Why would you let a _murderer_ and a _rapist_ live?”

“I told you-”

“That’s bullshit,” Jason snapped. “You can’t convince me to believe that you’re so shallow that you’d feel guilty for getting rid of a pretty face.”

“I-” Dick started to say. “I…”

“You what?” Jason asked, his tentacles wrapping around himself protectively. There were much more of them now, nearly hiding his tail completely and was starting to encase his upper body.

Dick realized that the tentacle mass was Jason’s protective shell. It was a place he could hide at all times. A place where no one could see what he was really thinking.

Dick squeezed his hands into fists. Jason’s face as going to get lost in the tentacles soon. He did not even seem aware that he was doing it. His eyes betrayed the hurt and insecurity he was feeling.

“I’m sorry!” Dick blurted out.

The tentacles stopped inching up.

“I’m sorry,” Dick said again.

“Are you just going to keep repeating, or is there a reason you’re sorry?”

Dick took a deep breath and unclenched his hands. “I’m sorry I was so… accusatory. And I… may have had another reason for- for-”

“For not killing me?” Jason asked, still sounding a bit annoyed.

“Yeah,” Dick said, his voice strained. “Um, I, uh, I maybe, kind of… like you? Like, you were surprisingly not as horrible of a creature as I thought you were. And you were actually kind of sweet. And kind of charming, and your voice was kind of sexy, and your constant touches stopped bothering me after a while, and my plan to kill you was kind of pushed to the side, and I did not mind spending time with you? And that really scared me, so I thought if I just killed you and got over with it, I could go back home, lose my virginity to the first hot guy I saw, and everything will be fine, right? But then you were a perfect face to match a perfect personality, and I- I just _couldn’t!_ ”

Jason was silent, and Dick refused to look at him.

“So you kind of liked me,” Jason said in a flat voice. “But you felt guilty about it because you grew up being told that I was a monster.”

Dick nodded sharply once.

“I see,” Jason said with a soft sigh. “Then perhaps I should clear up that I am in fact _not_  monster. I am just another mer, but I have more tentacles, I suppose, so the mer all think I’m more powerful or something stupid like that. So they made me king or ruler or prince or whatever they call me.”

“Have they seen your face?”

“No,” Jason said softly. “They haven’t. I’m actually older than a lot of them. If they knew what I truly look like, they might work to overthrow me. But I must protect them. I must protect my home,” Jason said.

“Oh.”

“Just like you worked to protect your home,” Jason whispered.

“I understand,” Dick said with a nod. “I’m sorry about accusing you again.”

Jason nodded. “It’s okay,” he said. “I accused you as well, and I apologize for that.” He paused for a second. “Dickie… do you really like how I look?”

Dick met Jason’s eyes, surprised to see them filled with genuine curiosity and raw vulnerability.

“Of course,” Dick answered with a gush of a breath. “You’re- You’re the most beautiful person I’ve ever seen.”

Jason blushed. “I am?”

“How do you not know how handsome you look?”

“No one’s seen my face,” Jason said softly. “Well, one person has. When I was a lot younger. I… I used to play in the rivers, and I saw these boys playing by the riverbank. I did not know much about humans, and I was curious. They- They screamed when the saw me, calling me an ugly fish.”

Dick’s eyes went wide. “But- you’re so-”

Jason just shrugged. “You know what it is, Dick? It’s the idea that ‘beauty is in the eye of the beholder’. To you, I’m… b-beautiful. But to other humans, I would look hideous.”

“There’s not way-”

“Did you find the mer ugly when you first came here? Truthfully?” Jason cut in.

Dick frowned. “A bit, I guess? But you’re not like them, Jason, you’re-”

“I’ll show you,” Jason said softly. His tentacles wrapped around the rest of him, concealing him from sight.

“Wait-” Dick said desperately, not wanting Jason to hide again.

Then, there was a knock on the door to Jason’s room.

_“My prince? I have brought breakfast.”_

“Come in,” Jason said.

The door was pushed open, and a female mer with a dark green tail swam inside, carrying a tray of food in her hands. She looked at Dick and smiled, giving him a shallow nod.

Dick blinked, unable to look away from her. She was _beautiful_. When she swam out and closed the door again, Dick was still blinking at the spot she had been in.

“See?” Jason said. “They all look beautiful now. I’m nothing special.”

His tentacles crept into his back again until only a few hovered around him. They poked at the fruits in the bowl listlessly.

Dick was baffled. He had always been to be a bit bold, a bit brash, a bit forward, but it was part of his charm.

“I still think you’re better,” he said.

Jason looked up at him. Then, he shook his head. “You’re just saying that so I would let you go. I already said you can go. In fact, you might as well go now.”

“You’re- You’re seriously going to let me go?”

Jason nodded, curling a tentacle around a fruit, squeezing it gently.

“If I go… can I come back?”

“Why would you want to come back?” Jason asked, eyebrows furrowing.

“Because I like you! I think… if I hadn’t been so stubborn and hell-bent on fulfilling my mission, I would have enjoyed my stay here,” Dick admitted. “If I can’t come back, then… I won’t go.”

“You’re kidding, right? That’s all you wanted to do since you’ve gotten here!” Jason exclaimed, crushing the fruit.

“No,” Dick said softly. “I’ve been saying that, but… I don’t think it’s the truth. Back home, I really only had my brothers. And they weren’t my real brothers at that.”

“You’d give that up to stay here, with me? What if you get bored of me?”

“Jason,” Dick said softly. “I know I was a complete asshole earlier and pretty much this entire time, even though you were actually really kind to me, but just accept that maybe I’m a little whacked in the brain and I do like you for some strange reason! And maybe I want to stay because I want to be with you. Unless… you don’t like me back?”

“I… do like you,” Jason said, forcing the words out.

“Then, I don’t see what’s wrong!” Dick said. Then, he gasped. “Jason, what if I go home and tell them I’ve struck a deal with you? You stop taking people from the village, and they will not pollute your rivers or lake, and I will stay with you, acting as a liaison! If they go back on their promise, you can go right back to your virgin snatching.”

“Virgin snatching?!”

Dick just grinned. He put his hands on Jason’s shoulders. “It’s perfect,” he said. “And then we can be together, and you can finally make use of one of the virgins you captured.”

“Captured?!”

“With your great looks and sweet personality,” Dick teased.

Jason just sputtered.

“C’mon,” Dick said. “You have to admit. It’s a good idea.”

Jason let out a low grumble. “I suppose it’s not horrid,” he admitted. “But will you really stay?”

“I don’t know if I could leave if I wanted to,” Dick murmured. “I’m so fucking drawn to you. I just want to touch you and kiss you and have you touch me, _god_.”

“Then do it, Dick. Kiss me.”

And Dick kissed him.

~

Dick climbed out of the water, heaving. The dry air felt harsh to his lungs, and he coughed a few times to get used to it. It felt too light. He felt too light.

Still, Dick lurched towards the path to the village. His clothes were nearly dry when he got to the edge of the village. His feet had gravel and pebbles stuck in them, and he was really fucking cold.

“Oh my god, are you okay?” a woman asked, seeing him. “Did you fall into the river? Oh my god, how did you get out alive?” she asked, coming up beside him to help him along. Then, she got a good look at his face and screamed.

Her scream drew out more of the villagers. Suddenly, Dick was being bombarded with questions and sobs and just too many emotions.

He groaned and did his best to push through them.

“Hey, hey! What’s going on here?” came a familiar voice.

A small, teenaged boy pushed through the crowd. The boy’s green eyes went wide when he saw Dick.

“Grayson?” he asked.

Dick smiled. “Dami.”

Damian took a small step backwards. “You’re- You’re alive.”

“I am,” Dick said. “A bit wet, but never better.”

Damian suddenly rushed forward and ran into Dick’s arms, hugging him tightly. “I knew you’d come back,” Damian said.

Dick laughed and decided not to remind the boy of what he was like when Dick had first been chosen.

Damian pulled back suddenly. “Father and Drake will be elated to hear about this. Come with me!” He grabbed Dick’s hand and started pulling him through the crowd. “Drake has been taking up all your duties since you were gone, and now he barely gets any sleep. And Father has been acting extremely strange as well. He did not at all seem bothered by you being taken…”

Damian rambled all the way to their house.

“Father! Drake!” Damian called. “Look who I found!”

Tim came running downstairs. “Dick!” he shouted, his gaunt face lighting up. Dick laughed as Tim ran to him.

Bruce came out of the kitchen and smiled. “I knew you could do it.”

Dick’s smile disappeared. He cleared his throat. “Dami, Tim, you mind letting me talk to B for a bit?”

“But-”

“Ten minutes,” Dick said gently.

Damian huffed but let go of Dick. “Fine. But I expect to hear about everything soon.”

Dick smiled. “I promise, Little D.” He waited until they were both gone before turning to Bruce. “We need to talk,” he said. “I did not kill the Prince. But, we struck a bargain.”

Bruce opened his mouth to interrupt, but Dick glared at him.

“Let me finish. He will stop taking virgins if our village stops polluting the rivers and the lake. And I stay with him.”

“You’re _staying?_ ” Bruce asked. “But we need you here.”

Dick did not bother explaining to Bruce that he might be in love with the Prince. Bruce would not understand. “I can travel between the water and the land of my own will, but I must stay in the water for the majority of the time. It’s a rather tiring swim up to the surface, so I might only be able to come up two or three times a week.” Dick lied a little bit. Jason was the one who swam him up the surface. Dick had just snuggled deep into his tentacles and let them carry him.

“No, that’s-”

“Those were the only terms we could agree on. Bruce, it’s either that, or it goes on as it is. And I won’t get to come back on land anymore.”

Bruce’s lips pressed together tightly. He glared at the floor for a long time. Then, he sighed. “Fine,” he said tersely. “But I refuse to change any of those terms in his favor, understand?”

“Understood,” Dick promised. And inside, he did a little dance.

~

“Oh god,” Dick gasped. “I’ve been a virgin way too long, Jay, _please_.”

“Yeah, yeah,” Jason groaned, still prepping Dick slowly with his tentacles. “I just don’t want to hurt you.”

Dick smiled down at him, before pressing a light kiss to Jason’s lips. “I’m tough,” he said. “You can go a little faster.”

Jason had two tentacles up inside of Dick, and he was moving slower than a snail, hoping he would not hurt Dick. But at Dick’s prompting, he went a little bit faster.

Dick groaned loudly. Every drag of Jason’s tentacles over his prostate was heaven. “Oh, please just fuck me,” he gasped out. “I need you, Jay!”

Jason swallowed hard and pulled his tentacles out. “Okay, okay,” he said. Jason reached down to the slit where his tail started. He grabbed his cock, stroking it a few times before shifting Dick up so that he was positioned at Dick’s hole.

“Ready?” Jason asked.

“Yes!” Dick gasped out, rolling his hips back. “C’mon, Jason!”

Jason grabbed Dick’s hips and slowly brought him down onto his cock. Dick hissed, nearly making Jason stop, if Dick had not shoved himself down the rest of the way.

“Oh god,” Dick groaned. “You feel so good, Jay-”

Jason himself was in bliss as well. Dick was hot and tight around him, and his cock was pressed against Jason’s slit. A dirty thought entered his mind.

Without really thinking it through, he lifted Dick a bit with his tentacles, before reaching down and positioning Dick’s leaking cock against his slit. Then, his tentacles brought Dick back down.

With a loud moan from both of them, Dick’s cock slipped into Jason’s slit, right alongside his own cock.

“Oh god, Jay!” Dick gasped out. “You’re so hot, holy _shit_!”

Dick started riding him in shallow movements, but it was not long before his enthusiastic movements became faster and more careless. While he impaled himself onto Jason’s cock, he fucked his own cock deep into Jason.

It was the strangest but best combination of feelings Jason had ever experienced down there. He had never done both at the same time before, and he usually did not even like having things stuck into his sensitive slit. But Dick… Dick was just _perfect._

The two of them came at the same time, spurting deep within each other.

Dick collapsed down on top of Jason after his came down from his high. He squeezed his hole together tightly to keep Jason’s come inside of him. Jason’s own cock shrank back into his slit, and within seconds, his slit closed up and disappeared, sealing Dick’s come inside of him.

“That’s so cool,” Dick groaned, cuddled up against Jason. “Wait, can you get pregnant?”

Jason rolled his eyes. “No,” he said. He pointed to his red eyes. “Male, remember?”

Dick snorted and flicked Jason’s chin. “Sassy. But I love you.”

“Mm,” Jason murmured, closing his eyes and bathing in the afterglow of his orgasm. Several of his tentacles had wrapped around the two of them, gently binding them together. “Love you too.”

“You really do?” Dick asked in giddy surprise.

Jason lazily opened his eyes again. “Yeah,” he said after a moment’s consideration. “I suppose I really do.”

**Author's Note:**

> This one was a pain to write. It's a little bit all over the place, and I'm sorry about that. I don't particularly like any of the fics I've done this week, and I didn't even do day 4, because I could not like it for more than the first 1k words each time I came up with an idea, so I'm skipping that day.
> 
> Sorry this wasn't great and I'm sorry it is unedited at the moment. I'm just not feeling up to the whole editing thing, but I will get to it someday, because I am aware that it needs major cleaning. Hope you didn't mind this too much.


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